Nope. The defense has been a huge disappointment after 2010. That was thought of as a 'rebuilding' season and down the stretch of that year, the defense played alot better and seemed to be headed in the right direction. Unfortunately it's only gotten worse.

The offense too and JMD has looked amazing at times but has failed in all the clutch moments, did not see that coming. Also the overall management has been an amazing disappointment. The awful handling of the closing moments in the AZ game, and today's misuse of clock at the end of 1st half/misuse of To's in 2nd half is just mind boggling for what most consider the best coached team in the league.

This team has been a major disappointment thus far, not just the record but the overall traits.

I predicted 10-6...I thought the Ravens would win handily, they did not, they actually LOST. I thought they'd win in Seattle....I definitely thought they'd win the Zona game;...but yeah, I thought they'd be inconsistent this season....but I figured the inconsistency to be on the DL and OL. I figured the Bills
to be much more formidable than they are. The East flat out sukks this season with each team battling its own demons. We get Houston and SF at the end of the season at home....who knows what the rosters will look like by then, if what is happening now is any indication.

Hold serve with the AFC East at home and go 5-1 should be enough to get the Patriots in the post season....but who can call anything with any certainty at this point? I certainly can't...

Anyone who expected the defense to be drastically better was fooling themselves

It's more of a matter of talent than getting in sync in the secondary....I simply think nearly all of the secondary is not very good and I would think it will compare to last season when it's all said and done.

The team will need to put up 30 to win its games,I have no other reason to think differently from what we have seen thus far

Who thought that Arizona would be anything less than atrocious? Who knew Seattle would be as good as it has been.

People were talking about how GB had the best receiving core in football and how Rogers was the favorite for MVP. Seattle held that team to something like 14 points. They were very fortunate to only hold us to 23.

If each game we lost was only the tiniest bit different it is very easy to see us as 6-0, which would have actually been a bit better than expected.

As I'm a fan who hopes we do well more than fearing we won't, I think the best case scenario for this team is a 2007 in reverse. We clearly have all the pieces on O to be something special and potentially unstoppable if we are clicking. Most of our D is young and haven't yet really jelled together, but there is enough potential for bright spots that its not certain that we are doomed. The point is that we could very well end up being a dominant and special team. It will just take a season for that to manifest itself, and for the NFL and the nation to figure it out.

Yes. I did not follow every off season move but I did not see where the improvement in the secondary was going to come from. This team has not improved their secondary in 3 years. Why should this year be any different.

I am starting to believe that BB simply cannot figure out how to build a secondary with the new NFL rules in place in regards to the receivers.

1) We do not have a steady presence and leader in the safety who can help CB , never allow big plays.
2) A Safety who can take care of all this and let Chung do what he does best,make plays and roam.
3) A single high safety meaning some one who understands he is the high safety and does not get beat ... also today most of the long plays where right in the middle. the Outside CB is channelling thr WR ot the middle where the High Safety is suppose to be...but he was no where to be found.

It has been a frustrating season. It started with Wes getting fewer looks until Edelman got injured. The team loses Hernandez for 4 games (went out in first drive in week 2). Gronk has not looked the same this year probably due to playing hurt. The defense looks just as bad as last year which is a difficult feat to match.

On the other side, the team hasn't lost by more than a FG. The running game looks legit (hopefully Bolden is OK). And there is still time to make adjustments and get ready for the 2nd half of the season.

Who thought that Arizona would be anything less than atrocious? Who knew Seattle would be as good as it has been.

People were talking about how GB had the best receiving core in football and how Rogers was the favorite for MVP. Seattle held that team to something like 14 points. They were very fortunate to only hold us to 23.

If each game we lost was only the tiniest bit different it is very easy to see us as 6-0, which would have actually been a bit better than expected.

As I'm a fan who hopes we do well more than fearing we won't, I think the best case scenario for this team is a 2007 in reverse. We clearly have all the pieces on O to be something special and potentially unstoppable if we are clicking. Most of our D is young and haven't yet really jelled together, but there is enough potential for bright spots that its not certain that we are doomed. The point is that we could very well end up being a dominant and special team. It will just take a season for that to manifest itself, and for the NFL and the nation to figure it out.

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Seattle was a trendy Super Bowl pick prior to the season. Arizona was under the radar, but fact is they've been hot since the second half of last year. Let's not make the NFL more mysterious than it already is.

As for GB, they're showing they still have it tonight against a very good opponent. PM me when the Patriots do this, please.

I'm also tired of this excuse "WELL THEY'VE LOST BY CLOSE SCORES, SO IT'S A FLUKE MEDIOCRITY." At what point do 'fluke' tough losses become reinterpreted as a team that can't get it done in tight games? When do we start seeing a pattern of something fundamentally wrong in this football team?

At any rate, I'm not sure if such problems can be swept under the rug that this team is suddenly going to "get it together," and it's somehow the fault of the entire country for not recognizing this.

I thought this team would have a record-setting offense, and the inability to close out games would be a thing of the past. But I was also expecting some combination of Gaffney/Stallworth/Branch/Johnson/Gonzalez to make the team, and for Vereen to have a bigger impact, and for Waters to actually show up. And wasn't expecting the team to roster FIVE tight ends instead.

Far be it for me to question the wisdom of Belichick, one of the greatest football minds of all-time, but this isn't the team I envisioned. Now, a 10-game winning streak could do a lot to change perceptions around here, but really, how much different are the Patriots now than a year ago? A more diverse running game, sure. But otherwise we're seeing the same problem with the secondary as before, and the lack of a killer instinct late in games with their backs against the wall.

Someone else brought it up. Remember when Brady used to lead back the Patriots and win these types of games on a regular basis? That seemed to stop happening six years ago. Today, I fully expected the Pats to give the ball back to the Seahawks, unable to run the clock out, and watch Seattle march down the field at will, like more teams have done in recent memory. It's ridiculous to think the team has lost the moment they punt the ball away, but that's how it is.

BTW being objective I see that luck works both ways. The Pats were about to lose the AFCCG to Baltimore when the Ravens screwed up their chance to bring it to OT... and the Pats lost a game they nearly lucked themselves into victory with against Arizona. But still, great teams know how to protect a lead. The Patriots seem to be a great team (yes, I still dare to call this 3-3 team "great") that somehow still struggles with this concept. This team is an enigma... not as good as we thought they would be coming into the year, but not as bad as their record makes them look. In other words, not an 8-8 team, but likely not a 13-3 team either.

I am not remotely surprised by the performance of this secondary. Brady was infuriating today as well, but I have reason to expect a better performance from him than the secondary. Chung, McCourty, Dowling, are all playing terribly. Tavon and Dennard are playing the best right now, and they are rookies - probably because they are playing the ball until the Pats teach them that it's better to just run with the receiver until he catches the ball for a first down and then bump him out of bounds. That's the Patriot way!

Seattle was a trendy Super Bowl pick prior to the season. Arizona was under the radar, but fact is they've been hot since the second half of last year. Let's not make the NFL more mysterious than it already is.

As for GB, they're showing they still have it tonight against a very good opponent. PM me when the Patriots do this, please.

I'm also tired of this excuse "WELL THEY'VE LOST BY CLOSE SCORES, SO IT'S A FLUKE MEDIOCRITY." At what point do 'fluke' tough losses become reinterpreted as a team that can't get it done in tight games? When do we start seeing a pattern of something fundamentally wrong in this football team?

At any rate, I'm not sure if such problems can be swept under the rug that this team is suddenly going to "get it together," and it's somehow the fault of the entire country for not recognizing this.

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I think your the only one sweeping problems under the rug. I understand this team has problems, its obvious, every single NFL team has glaring problems. I just think there are also a lot of positive spots that should give us hope. That is all I am asking for because to pretend every part of a whole team can be good beyond doubt is ridiculous.

Denver may or may not be a good team, like GB they've been up and down. But we did beat them by two scores the last game and it came down to the D forcing huge turnovers.

This week the D put the offense into a position where they could have closed out the game. If Brady had just got another first down or two rather than punting that whole last drive never happened. We never would have been in a chuck-it-down-the-field situation with two rookie safeties on the field.

I just don't think this team is doomed to failure at the end of late games. That sort of reputation doesn't really mean much because the end of games can be so unique. Asante Samuel and about 3 49er defenders last NFC championship game could have destroyed Eli Mannings perception as Mr. 4th quarter if they had caught balls that hit them in the hands. If he had been in a slightly different position Gronk could have caught that hailmary at the end of last years SB.

Oh and, by the way, the D did end up getting better as the year went along last year. That doesn't mean they will this year, but it is very possible it could. Why not be excited about that?